Finch
by f-o-r-rue
Summary: It's when I hear a rustle in the grass that I leap to my feet, bow in hand. Rue stands up too, and I lightly nudge her behind me with my arm. I look around, unsure of where the rustle was coming, and I suddenly see a girl with a familiar thin face and red hair. I lower my bow. "Katniss?" It's Foxface.
1. Chapter 1

It's when I hear a rustle in the grass that I leap to my feet, bow in hand. Rue stands up too, and I lightly nudge her behind me with my arm. I look around, unsure of from where the rustle was coming, and I suddenly see a girl with a familiar thin face and red hair.

I lower my bow.

"Katniss?"

It's Foxface.

"Foxface?" She looks confused when I call her that. I forget that's not her real name sometimes.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she says. "My name is Finch."

_Finch._ It's nice knowing her name.

I nod. "What do you want?" I feel Rue peeking out from behind me.

"You can stop hiding," I whisper. She grabs the back of my arm as she walks around to my side. When she does this, she reminds me so much of Prim on the reaping day, when I held her hand as we walked. The memories of her, of home, of District 12 overwhelm me.

I gulp.

"We'd work well together, you know," Finch states. "And Rue, too."

She nods towards Rue, and despite the smile on her face, Rue clutches my arm even tighter.

"How do you know our names?" I ask.

"Well, everybody knows your name, Girl on Fire," she smiles. I smile back at her, even though I don't like that everyone knows my name now.

"And for Rue? I heard the boy from 11 mention her. I think his name is Th-" Rue cuts her off.

"Thresh," she whispers. "His name is Thresh."

I decide to get back to the point. "So you're asking to form an alliance?"

Finch slowly walks towards me. "I guess you could say that."

"We actually _could_ work well together," she continues. "I know how you are with that bow and arrow. Everyone in the arena does. I know a lot about plants. That could help us – or you – a lot. Rue's small, and I've seen her in trees. I could gather berries, you could hunt, and Rue could keep watch in a tree – maybe warn us if there's any danger."

"You've thought about this a lot."

"I have," she grins. "Is this a yes or a no?"

I look down at Rue, and she looks back up at me with wide eyes and slowly nods.

"I guess it's a yes."


	2. Chapter 2

**I know this is kind of short, and I'm going to work on writing longer chapters in the future. I've only gotten 3 reviews so far on the first chapter, but all 3 were nice, so thank you! :) Enjoy~**

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Finch and I walk in search of food in silence. Rue is perched up in a tree somewhere, and I can't help but worry about her. I don't like leaving her alone.

I enjoy hunting with Finch. While I hunt, she looks for berries and plants. It reminds me of being with Gale, when we walked in the woods together. He would set up traps and snares, and I would do the shooting. We worked together in harmony, very much like me and Finch are right now.

She's very catlike and light on her feet, so she isn't scaring away any game. She's kind, and she's pleasant to be around. I'm sure if things were different, Finch and I could be friends.

_No. You can't get too attached. You're going to have to break the alliance soon._

"How did you learn so much about plants?" I ask.

"I started working in my dad's plant shop when I was nine," Finch replies. "He thought working there and teaching me about phytology would help me later on in life. I guess it did," she smiles.

"It sure did."

We continue walking for a while. Finch finds some more berries, and I shoot a groosling.

"Do you ever wonder what you would be doing right now if you weren't stuck in this arena?" she asks.

It's a strange question, one that came out of the blue. I don't know what triggered her to ask me this, but it's a good question anyways.

"I'd probably be hunting with Gale." I only remember after I say this that she doesn't know who Gale is. Whenever I think of Gale, it feels like I've been punched in the stomach. But it in some odd way, it helps. It motivates me to just get out of here.

To my pleasure, she doesn't ask who Gale is. I'm happy about the fact that I don't have to explain who he is to her – thinking about him more will make me want to scream.

"Why do you hunt?"

"To survive. To feed my family."

When I think of Mom and Prim, it's more than a punch – it's a knife in the stomach.

"You ask a lot of questions," I tell her.

"I'm trying to find a way to start some sort of conversation," she says. "I think bringing up something other than the fact that we're in an arena with murderous children is a better way to start, don't you think?"

I smile a little. She has a point.

I want to ask her something. I'm hesitant at first about it, but I go ahead and ask anyways.

"Have you seen Peeta?"

She doesn't answer, only looks at me with a slightly confused expression.

"He's my district partner," I explain.

"Oh! Your star-crossed lover?" she laughs. I have a sudden urge to shoot her.

"We are _not _star-crossed lovers," I growl. Finch seems intimidated. I feel a little bad now. I like her, and I don't want to scare her. Not only do I like her, she's proven to be quite useful.

Finch comes across at first as "sly and elusive", but she really isn't. Well, she can be, but she's so sweet and timid that I feel if she wasn't as smart as she is, she wouldn't last a chance here. She's a bright and agile person, and that's her advantage. I have decent survival skills, but I envy hers. She could hold her own in the arena.

"Finch," I begin, "why did you want me and Rue for allies?"

"Well, to be honest, I didn't know you were allied with Rue," she admits. "So I didn't really think about her. It's not a problem, though. I like her. I wanted you because I didn't just feel you were a good person, I felt you were a survivor."

I was looking at the ground and the trees the whole time, but when she says this, I decide to pay more attention to her.

"If you were brave enough to volunteer for this and risk your life, you're brave enough to be a victor. You're smart. You're a great archer. And out of everyone in this arena that volunteered, you're the most human. Some of the other tributes would have just killed Rue, and they probably would have killed me. But you didn't. You'll only hurt someone in self-defense. And I could tell you were a good person from the second you walked on to the hovercraft to the arena. You're strong, Katniss." The shakiness in her voice lets me know how scared she really is.

I think about it, and I realize how similar Finch and I really are. We're just two kids in a terrible situation, trying to get home.

_You're strong, Katniss._

The words ring in my ears.

It's a shame there can only be one victor.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this chapter isn't the best, but I think it'll do. I've never actually written a chapter/scene like this before, so it was a little strange. I've gotten lovely reviews from all of you, and now I write in fear of letting someone down! All is well, though, it makes me want to keep going. Hopefully you like it! Enjoy.**

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Rue, Finch and I sit around the pile of food, and we eat the groosling I shot and the berries Finch managed to find. Rue got us some extra food with her slingshot. It wasn't a lot, but it was something. Even though it made her uncomfortable, I insisted Rue eats the most. She's very small to begin with, and she's losing too much weight.

It's obvious Rue doesn't trust Finch too much. Every time she's around, Rue stares at either me or the ground. I try to tell her that it's okay, that Finch is alright, and that she isn't going to hurt us. Rue doesn't believe me. Maybe there's something about her that she sees that I don't. I'm normally not a very trusting person, but I trust Finch.

Last night was her first night with me and Rue, and I stayed as awake as I could. I tried to keep myself alert as possible in fear that she may just kill us while we sleep, in our most vulnerable state, and run away. But she didn't. She had the perfect opportunity to kill us and take off, and she didn't take it.

I understand why Rue doesn't trust her, though. She's been forced in to an arena with 23 other people, all older than her, and they're all determined to win.

Rue has been staring at the ground for a couple minutes now. Finch takes notice of this, and I think she realizes that it's because of her.

"Rue?" Finch says, in a soothing tone. It sounds like how I would talk to Prim. "Are you alright?"

Rue looks up suddenly, fear etched across her face.

"Don't you think if I was going to hurt you I would have by now?" Finch asks, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

I look towards Rue and nod. "It's alright."

Rue still seems worried, despite my efforts to make her a little more comfortable.

Finch begins to ask her questions about District 11 and herself in attempt to diffuse the awkwardness between them.

I don't listen, though. I look at the ground and zone out, and I only hear "Barnette." Maybe that's Rue's last name. All I can think about is Finch's voice, and how much it reminded me of how I talk to Prim when she's upset. I wonder how she feels right now, watching me play this horrific game.

I know Gale is taking good care of her, but even though I'm currently in the worst situation I could possibly be in, I still worry about my little duck.

I'm brought back to reality by footsteps in the distance and a rustle in the grass. Rue and Finch seem to have noticed it, too. Within seconds, standing before me is a tall, skinny boy with green eyes that stare directly in to mine, like he's trying to dig holes in to them, with a spear in his hand.

Marvel has found us, and he's going to kill us.

I pull an arrow out of my sheath and ready my bow. Rue's slingshot won't do us any good right now, and Finch has no weapon at all. I'm the only one who has a chance of taking down Marvel.

Finch is by my side, and I take a second to look at her. There's no urgency to flee in her eyes, only a display of strength and fearlessness. Rue was smart enough to hide behind a tree once she heard him coming.

Marvel comes closer, prepared and ready to kill. Even though I know it wasn't even a second, I feel like he was staring at us for an hour before he threw the spear. He has it perfectly aimed at my throat and the only thing I can do is duck down, so I do. I feel the metal of the spear graze the top of my head as it passes over me.

I can't tell if the look he's giving me is full of confusion or anger. I don't think he's ever missed a target before, and I know he's not very smart, so I decide it's a mix of both.

He runs at me, but I shoot an arrow in to his right arm bringing him to a full stop. He pulls it out, and a small stream of blood begins pouring from his forearm. Marvel lets out a groan and continues towards me, and I shoot a glance at Finch. She nods, as if she knows what I'm about to do.

I turn and run deeper in to the trees. I'm running as fast as I can, and Marvel is picking up speed. I hear something fly through the air, but before I have time to think about what it could possibly be, he knocks me to the ground and flips me over to face him. He has me pinned by my shoulders now, and I see a spear fly over our heads. In my peripheral vision, Finch is standing breathless, her eyes wide in both panic and defeat. I don't know what she thought she was doing throwing the spear - she should have known she wouldn't be able to hit Marvel.

He brings back his good arm to punch me, leaving the arm I shot to keep me pressed to the ground, and I think of every way I could injure him to escape. My sheath fell off when I was running, so I can't pull out an arrow and stab him with it.

His fist slams against my jaw, then my right eye, then my right eye again. The blood from his arm is trickling on to my shoulder, and I try to focus on that feeling instead of the pain. He punches me again, but by that time I've calmed down enough to figure something out.

When he brings back his arm to punch me again, I quickly sit up and press my palms to the ground, which keeps me from falling back down. I twist my torso towards the left so his hand slips off of my shoulder, and I bend my right leg and kick it up towards my chest so it hits him in the stomach. I punch him where his right arm bends, and I pull myself in to a ball so I can roll out from under him.

Finch bends down and throws me my bow and arrow. Marvel is still on the floor in pain, so I run over to her.

"Run!" I tell her.

"I'm not lea-" she protests, but I cut her off.

"Finch, please!" I beg. "I can take him! I need you to go make sure Rue is safe! If someone attacks her, she won't have a chance. Please."

Finch turns and runs in the other direction, and by this time, Marvel has brought himself to his feet.

I aim for his neck and shoot.

I don't miss.

He falls back on to his knees, and then on to his face. I lower my bow and stare at him as his breathing slows.

_Boom._


	4. Chapter 4

**Please don't kill me for taking forever to write such a short chapter! I've been suffering from some severe writers block lately. But I saw that I actually got favorites and follows, so I felt pretty guilty and forced this one out. I enjoyed writing this one just because I already know what I'm going to do for the next chapter, so you can expect that one a lot sooner than you got this one! I do know that this chapter isn't particularly exciting or wonderful or anything, but it's just to hold you until the good stuff comes along. Enjoy :)**

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Both tributes from District One are dead.

Both tributes from District One are dead because of Rue and Finch.

If Rue never pointed out that tracker jacker nest, I would have just sat in that tree, thinking of ways to escape, listening while the Careers discuss ways to kill me.

If Finch never threw me my bow, I would probably be dead. I could have run away, but Careers don't give up, especially on a tribute they're so set on killing.

The number of tributes is dropping and the victor will be crowned soon, but I'm going to try to prolong the life of this alliance until I absolutely have to break it. I don't want any of us dying at the hands of someone we trust, but I can't bear to leave them, especially Rue, the little girl who reminds me so much of Prim, who stayed with me when I was passed out from the tracker jacker venom , and who didn't know if I would kill her when I woke up.

Rue and Finch sit on either side of me and we look at the trees. We have nothing to say. I guess we're just tired.

I turn my head to Rue, and I find her staring at a mockingjay with her eyes wide and focused. She seems to be extremely interested in it. I'm sure many people are surprised about how long she's lasted. She's done a very good job of portraying herself as fearless rather than fearful, and I think she's been trying to portray herself like that since her name was called at the Reaping. But her guard is completely down, she's zoned out, the act is dropped, and now when I think about leaving her, I feel sick.

I look at Finch, and I expect to find her in a similar state, but I don't. Instead she's smiling up at the sky, and I think I hear her laugh a little. Maybe being trapped here has turned her mad, or maybe she's truly happy, although I think anyone who could be happy in this situation could be considered mad anyways.

The bird Rue's looking at flies away, and she finally breaks the silence. "Are you alright, Katniss? You know, what happened with the boy from District One."

According to Finch I have a black eye, which I don't doubt from the pain, and there's some bruising on my jaw. I'm not surprised I wasn't sent anything. Then again, I guess there isn't much to be done to heal it right now other than to wait and let it heal by itself.

"I'm fine," I lie.

I turn around and look behind a bush where we've been hiding all of our food.

"We're running out," I sigh. "There's barely any more plants to pick in here."

Finch turns to me and smiles. "Yes, there is."

"The tributes from Two and the boy from Three have this giant pyramid," she continues. "It's full of their supplies."

"By the lake?" Rue chimes in. "I've seen it before."

"It's how I've been surviving," Finch says. "When I can't find berries, I steal from it. Not enough that they would notice, but just enough to help me last a little longer."

"So what are you saying?" I ask.

"I'm saying that we're going to steal their food."

I look over to Rue to see what she thinks about it. Her face glows with excitement.

"Sounds like a plan. How are we going to do it?" I ask Finch.

"The boy from District Three dug up the landmines that they used during the countdown so we couldn't step off of our plates," she explains. "He re-armed them and they set up a trap to protect their food, but there's a way around it, obviously. I observed for a while, and I learned how to steal without exploding."

"But how have you done it without them seeing you?" asks Rue.

"I either do it while they sleep or while they're out looking for some more tributes to kill. See, that's the thing with them. They think that no one in the arena would dare to try to take their food, and even if someone did try, the landmines would go off. They don't think there's anyone smarter than them, so they don't care," Finch says. "They did begin to notice their supplies were lower than they should be, though. I think they may have started keeping watch at night."

"So how are we going to get past them?" Rue asks.

"You could set a fire," I suggest. "They'll probably see the smoke and head towards it."

Rue nods.

"We can blow it up, and they'll starve," she smiles. "We're better at finding food than they are."

"And how are we going to do that without blowing _ourselves _up in the process?" Finch asks.

"I'm working on that part," Rue sighs.

"I can try to set it off," I say. "I'm sure I can shoot something that'll make it blow up."

"So it's settled, then," Finch grins.

"When are we doing it?" I ask.

"Now, I guess," she says, standing up and brushing off her pants.


	5. Chapter 5

**Since the chapter I posted earlier was so short, I felt like I should give you something else for the time being. Sort of like a light snack when you're super hungry before dinner. I know this is short too, but consider it an add-on for Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

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I watch the wisps of smoke from Rue's fire rise above the trees from the bush I hide in. Clove sees it and taps Cato on the shoulder, who's talking to the boy from District Three. He turns around and before Clove can explain what she saw, Cato takes notice of the smoke.

The two of them head off towards it, and when they leave, Finch emerges out of the woods towards the other side of the pile where the boy from Three can't see her. She cautiously hops along over to it, aware of where each foot is placed when, and it amazes me that she remembered how to do this.

When Finch steals the food and runs back, I try to shoot something and set off the trap. Finch reaches the pile, and takes as much as food as she can fit in her arms. She turns, hops out of the trap again, and sprints in to the trees. Rue taught us a tune to whistle or sing that the mockingjays will spread so we all know we're all safe. I hear Finch whistle the four notes that mean success.

I load my bow with an arrow and stare at the pile for a few minutes. What can I shoot? How can I make it go off?

"Katniss!" a voice whispers from behind me. I turn around to see Finch.

"What happened?" I ask.

"On my way back to our camp I heard Rue screaming. I didn't know what to do, so I came to find you."

I jump to my feet. "Where was it coming from?"

Finch turns and runs and I run as fast as I can behind her. The further we run, the easier it is to hear Rue's cries.

"Where is she?!" I hear a voice scream. It's not Rue's. It's female.

It's Clove's.

"I don- I don't know," Rue whines.

Me.

She's talking about me.

I keep running as fast as I can towards it, and when I see Clove's black hair, I press my back against a tree. Finch copies me.

"I think Cato is here, too," Finch whispers.

I peer around the side of the tree and I see Rue is pinned to the floor by Clove's body with a knife pressed to her throat. Cato is standing next to them with his sword in his hand.

"Tell us where she is," Clove growls, "or we'll kill you too."

"I told you!" Rue growls back. "I. Don't. Know."

I watch as the blade slowly slides a little across her throat, revealing torn skin that drips with blood, and Rue lets out a blood-curdling scream.

I don't know what I'm doing. I know there's a fair chance that I'll be killed, but there's also a chance that I won't. I can't let Rue die. Not now. If I allow her to die without even trying to defend her, I will never forgive myself.

Cato is keeping watch while Clove tortures Rue.

He knows I'll come and defend her.

He's waiting for me.

He's correct.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know this is really short for how long I've been gone, but I've been really busy with dance and stuff. (I know, excuses, excuses..) Anyways, I plan on writing a chapter that's longer than two lines for once, but since I'm a slow writer, that would probably take forever and I'd feel bad for leaving you with nothing. So, here's this until the next update. I promise it'll be longer. I promise. I swear. I pinkie swear.**

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Clove pulls out a knife so fast that I can't tell where it originally was and throws it with great speed. I think she was aiming for my stomach, but it hits my waist on its way by instead. It lands behind me with a thud.

I feel an arm – or a leg – I'm not sure – graze my leg, near where the knife landed. I don't know who it is, or what they mean by it, but right now, I don't care.

Before I can pull a bow from my sheath, Cato is already giving Clove orders. "Get her and run."

By 'her', he means Rue. I figure that out when Clove grabs her by the hair and pulls her off of the ground with a snicker and runs as fast as she can, with Rue's short brown locks tight in her grasp as she drags her to her death.

My arrow barely misses Cato before he pushes me up against a tree, his hand around my neck.

"Hi, Katniss," he smiles. I struggle against him, but he tightens his hold on me and laughs.

There's no escaping now. I am about to die. In a way, I am already dead.

I notice the glassy look in my opponent's eyes and the deep shades of purple under them. He's exhausted. Has he been up waiting for a chance to kill me?

"All out of witty remarks, are you, Fire Girl?" he asks. "That's unfortunate. I was looking forward to laughing at you before I kill you. That's alright, though. Clove would be upset if she missed anything really good."

"Although she is a little upset that _she _isn't the one taking you out, but she settled for Rue," he continues.

The way he's nonchalantly telling me about how upset he is about not getting a good laugh out of me before kills me makes me sick, but at the same time, I feel a stab of pity surge through me. I wonder how Cato would be if he wasn't raised to be a killer.

"How do you find pleasure in this?" I choke out. It's a stupid question. Maybe I'm just trying to delay everything.

"Who are you to question me?" he asks.

My lungs scream for air and my throat feels like it's being torn apart piece by piece, even though Cato's hand is unmoving.

He throws his sword in the air with the hand that isn't pinning me against the tree and catches it again.

He lifts his leg up so his knee is against my stomach and releases his hold on me. I gasp for air, but before I can even inhale, his sword is pressed to my cheek. His free hand is over my mouth and I make an effort to bite his palm, but it doesn't work.

"No one can save you now," he growls. He stops for a moment and laughs. "No one can save you now.." he repeats. "This isn't all that bad. I feel like some sort of movie villain. Always wanted to be famous.."

He drags his sword down my face, and my muffled screams only get answered by even deeper injuries. My screams aren't a reaction to the wounds. They're a reaction to Rue's cries off in the distance.

Suddenly, he stops when the blade has almost reached my jaw. His eyes widen and his breathing slows. He falls forward on to his knees, and then on to his face. I look down and see the sharp knife Clove threw at me earlier has pierced the back of Cato's skull. I look up, and Finch is panting, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know if I should help you or go after Clove – I'm sorry if I made a mistake, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeats through sobs.

"She isn't dead yet. I can hear her. We have to find her! Get it together, Finch," I demand. "We have to find her."

Cato's cannon booms in the distance.


End file.
